Extra long walk!

I tried to find a word to describe a settlement larger than a village but definitely smaller than a town and I came across township. But I have also read that this particular word may have different meaning in different countries so I was a bit reluctant to use it without any further explanation. I would love to hear what it means in your country though :)

Anyway Siatista has a population of around 5.000 people and township sounds like a nice word to describe it! As I set foot on it, the first thing that caught my eye was the many and impressive old mansions that can be found there. I have seen many imposing old houses at villages all over Greece but this place seems to have a whole bunch of them!

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Some of them are neglected and are slowly falling apart but there are a lot of renovated ones that shine in all their glory. In some cases they are even open to the public, as a tourist attraction ! I can understand why the locals are proud of those buildings. They are 100-200 years old and excellent samples of an architecture that is hard to find any more, let alone in such abundance!

Siatista nowadays is not a poor place but it was in the 18th century that it was really wealthy. The source of that wealth came from the commerce with Europe and at that time it was definitely a town with double population and it soon became an important economic and educational centre, for the whole region.

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In the 6 pictures below you can see some of the schools that I saw during my walk, all housed in wonderful buildings to match the history of the place!

One of the 30 mansions that still stand in our days, is fully renovated and operates as a folklore museum. The owners (it is a private initiative) have gathered everyday items from the 18th and 19th century in an attempt to decorate the house as close as possible to the era that it was built. I can't know if the representation is accurate but it is for sure, interesting!

After the break at the museum I continued my walk taking more and more pictures. I just couldn't stop myself :)

And when I had enough of the narrow streets and the stone built houses, I continued my walk at the hills around the settlement!

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The sunset found me still there, on the hills, overlooking the illuminated houses and before I leave I didn't resist to the urge of a short night stroll :)

As in last week, I don't have a more recent walk to share, so I traveled through my archive to the time that I was a photographer for a travel magazine and remembered that beautiful extra long walk for my #wednesdaywalk post, a great challenge, hosted by @tattoodjay!

Happy Wednesday, happy walks, to all of you :)

All the pictures and the words are mine.

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